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.... For some reason, I don't like Communists or Communism. I blame Reagan for that.
I'm older; I blame the Dulles bros. 8)
China like many countries has adjusted their currency without regard to the rest of the world on occasion, they seem to have the idea that they can also call the tune on the world standard of exchange. What would it be? The Euro? Most nations trade the dollar or the pound simply because they are fairly stable and the US and the UK don't jimmy with the value, rather letting the market set the exchange.China is soon to be the big dog in the fight but with so many little dogs around can they pull it off?
I agree with your proposition… even during WWII there was a more civilized level of statesmanship (on all sides) than today. History provides another idea though; the Swiss had traditionally been allowed their neutrality since the Congress of Vienna. Add in that Geneva was the base for the International Red Cross; no, the Swiss wouldn't have stopped the Germans but would have been a pain in the process.
Hopefully this will not upset too many folks but Wikipedia (my usual fast and dirty first approximation) indicates that quick mobilization combined with economic considrations were at first saving graces. Later the turn of larger events left them as a low priority for invasion.
I guess todays' 8th grader doesn't need to be protected from Anne discovering hersef when you consider the fare on network TV, but I don't think that is the main idea behind the book anyway. I taught 8th grade and it is sometimes tough to get those kids to realize that the Holocaust happened... as messed up as the world seems today, they just can't imagine something of that magnitude for no other reason than Hitler wanted the Jews (and other target groups) out of his hair... how he could get the rest of his society to buy it. This may be for good (perhaps they won't fall for something of this ilk) or ill (they won't see something like it coming)... hard to tell.The main thing is that they get the message (leaving out the self-discovery is a small issue IMHO). The previous editions accomplished that pretty well, not sure this one will do better.
So... the best sci-fi I have read is lit then too because I remember and reread it? I cannot imagine an English teacher requiring students to read Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land. It is probably way too subversive talking about responsibility and stuff like it does.I read many classics... only remember the title and not the substance.
Like beauty, lit is in the eye of the beholder. Classic is a subjective term and even if everyone else thinks it classic... you have a vote too! I read a lot of classics that I wouldn't walk across the street to drop off at the used bookstore. 😉 BTW, I hope the safe is full of manuscripts.
There are common themes and characters, and a common area of origin. I'd say they are two solutions to the same problem. They both explain who we (their followers) are, how they got here, and how God (by whatever name) wants them (us) to behave. Most of what I've seen in my studies indicate that the major religions have more in common than differences; usually the differences are things cobbled up by radical fundimentalists that have a problem with anyone that doesn't agree with their spin.
